INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT CHANCELLOR BOB CORLEW · International President Chancellor Bob Corlew NEW...

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INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT CHANCELLOR BOB CORLEW Lions Clubs International Presidential Theme 2016-2017

Transcript of INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT CHANCELLOR BOB CORLEW · International President Chancellor Bob Corlew NEW...

INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT

CHANCELLORBOB CORLEW

Lions Clubs International Presidential Theme 2016-2017

The sights and sounds of my home state ofTennessee are many and varied. From thesounds of the mighty Mississippi River in the farwestern part of the state, to the sounds ofagriculture and industry in middle Tennessee, tothe sounds of the wildlife in the Appalachians ineastern Tennessee, all are distinct andrepresentative of warm, southern hospitality.The sounds of the waters of the Mississippi in thefar northwestern part of Tennessee, and furthersouth, the wail of blues music onBeale Street in Memphis, aregentle reminders of the distinctivepart of west Tennessee. Furthereast, in the central or “middle”part of the state, the relatively flatlandscape gives way to the rollinghills that characterize the portionof the state which gave rise tocountry music. The sound of thebanjo, guitar, and mandolin whichdominate the hills surroundingNashville for years have inspiredthe dreams of many a ruralTennessee farmer. Printers Alleyand Music Row are well-knownnames in the land which hasearned the name “Music City, USA.” The soundsof agriculture then give way to the sounds ofindustry as one moves further east to Knoxvilleand the transportation city of Chattanooga. Justeast of those sprawling cities begin the foothillsof the Smoky Mountains, which dominate theentire landscape of eastern Tennessee.

Throughout the day, one can hear thefrequent call of the coveys of quail—“bob, bobwhite”—interrupting the otherwise calm of therural and even pristine landscape in some partsof the state.

And then, when evening comes, as the sunsets behind the mountains, one can hear thelonely call of the whippoorwill, or the hauntinghowl of a coyote in the distance. Near smallhamlets, the sound of banjos, guitars and fiddlesring like echoes, calling people home. As

summer gives way to autumn, the hills andmountains become a splendor of color, as nativemaple, tulip poplar, birch, ash, chestnut, oak,and hickory trees turn russet, orange and yellow.Then as autumn becomes winter, the leaves giveway to a blanket of snow, pierced only by the baretree trunks and also the beautiful greenery of thecedar trees which dot the landscape.

The hills and mountains that form thebackdrop of my home create a uniqueatmosphere. The natural boundaries of the GreatSmoky Mountains formed over many generationsa distinct culture with specialized dialects, a unique cuisine and a tradition of storytelling.

I come from a strong stock thatenjoyed and valued their privacy.They built their homes on themountains and down in the"hollers" of Tennessee’s beautifullandscape. In doing so, theyisolated themselves from the restof the country and what wasconsidered the mainstream ofAmerican life. This relativeisolation inspired an independentspirit among those who settledhere. An unintended result of thesolitude of these mountaincommunities was the bond thatformed among people in this

sparsely populated region. A cooperative natureevolved into a tradition of neighbor helpingneighbor, of stranger helping stranger. Thetradition of volunteering became so pervasive,that when the still young United States’independence was challenged in the early 1800’s,it was the settlers of the region now known asTennessee who volunteered in large numbers todefends its sovereignty – owing to Tennesseeforever to be known as “the Volunteer State.”

The volunteer spirit continues to be prevalentin Tennessee. "People helping people" is aphrase which continues to characterize theattitude of many a Tennessean. It is rare that onewalks by another who fails to greet him or herwith a cheery “good morning” or, in the smallertowns, a “howdy, neighbor.” And in the tinycommunities of the state, the driver of every

International President Chancellor Bob Corlew

NEWMOUNTAINS

TO CLIMB

vehicle is met by a warm, friendly waive of thehand as he passes another vehicle.

Though times have changed, and oldtraditions have given way to modern technology,the historic friendliness that characterizesTennessee remains. As times have changed, newchallenges have arisen. New and differentopportunities for service have become apparent.New ways for the generous to give have come tothe forefront. Despite the modern times, the oldvolunteer spirit remains in the hearts of mostTennesseans.

The traditions I hold dear from my boyhoodin Tennessee, and the independence passed onfrom my ancestors who overcame manychallenges as they built a life in the foothills andmountains surrounding them, inspired me tochoose “New Mountains To Climb” as mypresidential theme.

Climbing a mountain is used as a metaphorfor many daily situations people confront. Itrepresents something that is difficult andarduous and that takes a maximum effort toscale. But it is only by climbing those mountainsthat we ever excel to our fullest. Each mountainrepresents a new challenge—a new opportunity.

As our world continues to change, each of usface new challenges—new opportunities to serveothers. Blindness, measles, other health risks,food insecurity, lack of clean water, war and civil

unrest—all represent challenges for countlesspeople around the world, and they representopportunities for Lions as we work to make theworld a better place. Lions must continue toclimb upward, finding new ways to serve. Everymountain represents a new opportunity for Lions,and scaling each mountain provides each of us achance to make the world better for anotherperson.

As we commence a year of celebrating 100 years ofcommunity service – honoring ourpast and embracing our present –it is our future that we must planand begin to forge. Our future isbright. But speaking metaphorically,if we are to ascend the nextmountain, we must lay out a trailin front of us; we must mark ourtrail for future generations of Lionswho follow, and preserve ourtradition of service.

We lead through service. That is our strength.We are a network of community leaders whohave seen the result volunteer service can bring,and the value that volunteers provide to theircommunities.

We must continue to assess our serviceinitiatives and programs offered by LCI to ensurewe have a unified vision in which serviceprograms drive the purpose of our organization,and as a result, grow our membership, increasemember satisfaction, allow for more meaningfulpartnerships and increase public awareness.Ultimately, we must continue to lead throughservice and enhance our position as the globalleader in humanitarian service.

Lions have an enormous impact on thehealth and well-being of communities worldwide.Think of all the ways that Lions make adifference in day-to-day life:

• Environment – Lions help to keep ourneighborhoods, streets, parks, rivers, greenspaces, and water clean and safe foreveryone.

• Youth – Lions tutor, teach, mentor, coach,and support young people with everythingfrom math homework to dealing withpersonal crises to football and soccertournaments.

• Hunger – We work on our own and withother agencies to stem food insecurity.

• Vision – Lions work on many levels to fightpreventable blindness and provide muchneeded services to the blind and visuallyimpaired.

Lions are critical partners of and participantsin societies throughout the world.

Ask yourself this question: What would mycommunity be like if there had never been aLions club?

What would our cities, towns, state/provincialparks, schools, and libraries look like? Whatbasic needs would go unmet? What opportunitiesto grow, learn, and thrive as a society would belost? That is a world that is hard to imagine, anddifficult to measure.

Fortunately, we don’t have to imagine aworld without Lions clubs. As we approach 100years of service, our footprint of service hasgrown beyond what Melvin Jones could havepossibly foreseen

Lions continue to adhere to the two wordsthat define us – our reason for being and the veryessence of our existence – “We Serve.” And Lionsembrace new challenges and new opportunitiesto serve others. No mountain is too high.

As we began our centennial celebration atthe 2014 International Convention in Toronto, weasked Lions to climb the next mountain – toserve at least 100 million people in four areas –Youth, Vision, Hunger and the Environment – byJune 30, 2018. Lions responded as only Lions do,with enthusiasm and determination. In only thefirst year we achieved more than one third of ourgoal. And now, as we conclude the second yearof our Centennial Service Challenge, we are wellpast the two thirds mark, and positioned nicely tomeet and exceed our goal.

REACHING THE

SUMMIT OF SERVICEReaching the top of a mountain is not the end of a journey;it’s the beginning of another. A new opportunity.

But now is not the time to rest.Every community, large or small, thateach club serves, presents anopportunity for a Centennial LegacyProject. Lions around the world arestepping up to meet this newchallenge by creating a permanentlegacy, which will forever remindLions and others in the community ofthe great work we perform, and themountains we climbed during ourcentennial year. Whether it's a parkwhere children can play, a sports fieldwhere young people can compete, aschool where students can learn, aneye center where those in need canbe served, a hospital where the sickcan be made well, a forested areawhere trees can grow and theenvironment be preserved, a librarywhere our senior citizens can learnand enjoy their time, or merely amonument, a clock, or a sign toremind us always of our duty to serve,Lions around the world are nowturning their attention to the needsthat can be met through completionof a Legacy Project. The mountain ishigh, and we cannot yet see the top. It will take perseverance if we are toachieve what we set out to accomplish.But we are Lions, and we will not stopuntil we reach the peak!

We know from focus group surveys of non-Lions that ourLions logo is one of the most widely recognized amongnon-profit groups. People connect our logo withcommunity service.

Serving the needs of our communities gives Lions aspecial connection and builds lasting bonds. Our goal isto have at least 20,000 clubs participate in the LegacyProjects. Whether your club participates with a level 1, 2 or 3 project as described in the below examples, makesure the Lions logo is prominently displayed as apermanent part of the project. And be sure to report yourproject in the same manner you record your centennialservice challenge projects.

CONNECT WITH

COMMUNITIES

Level 1 – Community Visibility• New signage• A memorial clock or statue

celebrating the community • Community benches• Bike racks• A gazebo or picnic area

Level 2 – A larger gift to the community• Refurbish a park or playground by

installing new equipment, oraccessible features for the disabled

• Provide accessibility equipment for anexisting facility serving the community

• Equip an area of a hospital thataddresses an unmet need

• Install a sanitation or clean-watersystem at a school

• Build a footbridge to make a busyintersection safer

Level 3 –A permanent project to advance quality of lifein the community• Develop or expand a medical clinic, library or

a school• Develop a Lions Room at a hospice or

hospital• Develop a technology lab at a center for the

visually impaired and blind• Develop a vocational training center for

under-employed youth or the disabled• Develop a new park, playground or pool for

the community

You can find more information about Centennial Legacy Projects at Lions100.org.

LEADING US OVER THE NEXT MOUNTAIN

Leadership is vision, knowledge, drive, confidence,optimism, openness, humanity, and caring. It is directionand guidance that inspires dedication, confidence, andachievement. Leadership is required to inspire and bring outthe best in people. It is a process by which a personinfluences and motivates others to accomplish an objective,and directs an organization in a way that makes it morecohesive and coherent (unified, connected, and harmonious).

A leader must inspire others, and instill passion anddirection to an individual or group of individuals.

So, leadership is the ability to inspire,empower, and instill passion in others -the ability to guide and direct others - theability to motivate others toward a commongoal, and achieve the desired results.

A recent study revealed that young people volunteer notonly to serve the needs of others, but also for opportunitiesfor personal growth. The training and development weprovide, and the actual leadership experience gained bybeing a member of a Lions club provides an opportunity foreach Lion to serve others better and also to grow as anindividual.

Leadership development also provides effective ways tounderstand and improve the way we handle our own andother people’s emotions by learning how better tocommunicate, motivate, guide and instill passion in others.

As we strive to meet the growing needs for humanitarianservice, we need to do so effectively and efficiently. Goodleaders can make that happen. Strong service = strong clubs= member pride, engagement and enthusiasm.

Just as importantly, leadership development is the wayto remain relevant and vibrant as we enter our next centuryof service. As we celebrate our centennial, we must plan forour future. One key to our future is succession planning –ensuring an adequate pool of knowledgeable, capable,enthusiastic, forward-thinking Lions leaders who will guideand support us for years to come.

To climb to the top of a mountain, you need the righttools. You also need the right tools to become an effectiveleader. Our leadership development programs, tools, andresources have enhanced the skills of thousands of Lionsaround the world, preparing them not only to effectivelyaddress challenges, but to anticipate those challenges aswell. Whether your preference is face-to-face training ortechnology-based learning, LCI offers something foreveryone. I encourage you to climb even higher by takingadvantage of the various training and developmentopportunities offered by LCI and the GLT.

Successful teams share two types of values.They value:

1) Achieving the goal or accomplishing the mission

2) Relating to each other as a team.

Shared values include:• Roles – Team members understand the

unique contribution and limitations of othersand develop a distinct division of labor. Inmountain climbing, one climber might beexcellent at deciphering new routes, anotherat setting ropes, and yet another at leadingon the rope.

• Shared Goals – The team goal is moreimportant than the individual goal. Forexample, climbing team members share thedesire to reach the mountain summittogether as a team, not just as individualclimbers.

• Team confidence – Teams believe they canachieve success.

A second set of shared values relate tointerpersonal dynamics.

• Trust – Team members count on each otherto come through as expected. In other words,the team members see a consistency inbehaviors. In mountain climbing, teammembers belay each other, resting assuredthey are safely tethered, even if a partnersets the ropes.

• Interpersonal understanding – Teammembers are aware of individual moods,desires, and personal situations so that theycan recognize when a fellow team member istoo physically weak or mentally exhausted tocontinue a climb.

These five values prove essential in gettingteams off the ground, and lead to success inreaching summits.

Each member of the team is no lessimportant than another. And each member of theteam makes an impact. For every new member

BUILDING OUR TEAM

BY INVITING FOR IMPACTLions Clubs International is comprised of many teams – clubs, zones,regions, districts, multiple districts, District Governor Teams, the GlobalLeadership Team, the Global Membership Team, International Directors,Executive Officers, our staff, and many more – all working together towardthe shared goal of enhancing our service to others.

who joins ourteam, we impact the livesof 30 people through service.Simple math then tells us thatfor every 1,000 members whojoin, we impact the lives of30,000.

Our goal during ourcentennial celebration periodis for every club to invite threenew members each year, andfor every district to start onenew club. That is a modest 5percent increase –approximately 138,000 newmembers. But it representsreaching an additional 4.1million people through service.

It’s not about addingmembers for the sake ofmembership growth. It’s aboutadding members to meet thegrowing needs of ourcommunities.

Mountains are never isolated entities. They areconnected. They are part of a series ofmountains called ranges - the Alps, the Andes,the Himalayans, and yes - the AppalachianMountains that run through my home ofTennessee.

Lions are connected too - through service,through fellowship and through something we allaffectionately call “Lionism.”

Lions around the world are connecting toeach other as never before via the internet, whichhas enhanced our ability to communicate.Through real-time communication, the world has

gotten just a little bit smaller, even if only byperception.

And more than ever before, Lions are usingsocial media to connect to the public.

Some clubs are even experimenting withonline meetings, and allowing some members toattend meetings via Skype and tele-conferencing.Increasingly, our international officers are able toaddress a gathering of Lions in one countrythrough Skype and FaceTime, while beingphysically present in another country around theworld to address Lions in another setting.

CONNECTINGMY MOUNTAIN TO YOURS

There are many ways to useelectronic communication, and justas many benefits, such as reachinga wider, more diverse audience. It’salso a great way to save time andmoney.

In preparation for our Centennial Celebrationin Chicago in 2017, our staff has reviewed anumber of letters written by Melvin Jones. Ourfounder spent many hours personally reaching

out to new communities where there were noLions clubs, and reaching out to Lions nearby.His letters inspired Lions and encouraged themto start new clubs in many underserved areasaround the world.

As we plan our future, the Internet will play acrucial role. In the spirit of efficiency, expediency,and extension of Lionism, one has to believe thatMelvin Jones would approve.

Long after the centennial celebration is over, thecheering has subsided, and the music has beenturned down a decibel or two – we will still havemany challenges ahead as the Lions continueour work of making the world a better place. Thegrowing need for service around the world willcontinue to confront us and challenge us as wemove forward.

And we must move forward. We mustcontinue to anticipate the next new mountain.And we must climb each one. People dependupon us.

LCI Forward is a strategic plandeveloped to significantly expandhumanitarian service, improve ourcurrent operations, and pursuenew paths to unite people in Lions’service.

A primary goal of LCI Forward is to improvethe lives of at least 200 million people each year– more than triple the number of people servedcurrently.

THE NEXT MOUNTAIN AND BEYOND

In addition, we want to become the best-known volunteer brand and organization in theworld, while achieving best-in-class service toclubs, district and our family of Lions whiledeveloping new and innovative ways to engagepeople in humanitarian endeavors under theLions’ umbrella.

The four areas of strategic focus are:• Reshape public opinion and improve

awareness of who we are and what we do

• Enhance service impact and focus• Improve membership value and reach

new markets• Pursue club, district and organizational

excellence

The outcome of achieving progress in all fourfocus areas will be:

1. More vibrant and resilient communitieswhere humanitarian needs areaddressed more effectively

2. Increased membership and improvedretention, with the majority of clubsgrowing each year in both service andmembership

3. New ways for Lions to serve4. Increased awareness as the world’s

most recognized volunteer serviceorganization

We look forward to a significantannouncement at the 2017 centennial conventionin Chicago to launch a new global humanitariancause – a unifying service platform that will beembraced by all Lions and be highly recognizedby the non-Lion public. A new mountain, that we,the Lions, will be eager to begin to climb!

We will not only be celebrating our gloriouspast, but we will also be celebrating a brightfuture as we come together in Chicago!

New mountains to climb. New challenges tomeet. New goals to achieve. New people toserve. New members to welcome. Newleaders to guide us.

As we celebrate 100 years of service, we exalt in theaccomplishments of Lions whocame before us – those whoestablished our tradition of noneed should be unmet – whowore a path up manymountainsides to establish ourorganization as the globalleader in humanitarian service.

But our job is far from concluded. Whenasked why he climbed a nearby peak, one

famous mountain climber replied simply “to get to the top.” The world looks differentfrom the top of a mountain. The view fromthe top presents a far different landscape –a 360 degree panorama. From the top of amountain one can see towns and cities thatlie ahead or behind; rivers that wind theirway through valleys below - and yes, thenext summit to climb.

We don’t yet know the view from the topof the next mountain. But we know we haveto get there. We know we must ascend tothe next level of service, and mark our pathalong the way for the next generation ofLions.

This is the time to prepare ourselvesand those who follow behind us, for the next100 years, and for the bicentennial of LionsClubs International. I’m asking you to joinme in this continuing journey as we climb tonew heights.

THE VIEW FROM THE TOP